Long-haul, low-cost carrier AirAsia X says it has received a “tremendous response” to the recent Request for Proposals (RFP) for the expansion of its European route network launched earlier this month in partnership with Routesonline. The airline is due to take delivery of five Airbus A330-200s from 2012 and also has 10 A350s on order.
It launched a Pre Qualifying Questionnaire (PQQ) to deem if the airports met the basic operational and performance requirements of the airline’s aircraft on June 1 and confirmed to The HUB this week that over 20 applicants have now passed through to the formal RFP stage, a very detailed criteria set by the airline to ensure high quality submissions.
“We have been absolutely delighted with the level of interest in this tender and pleased with the responses we have received from potential airport partners,” said Senthil Balan, Head of Network Planning and Regulatory Affairs, AirAsia X. “Using Route Exchange to manage this process has brought a level of structure to the procedure and airports have highlighted to us how much they have appreciated the transparency of using this confidential platform.”
There is still time for interested airports to submit their documents, but Senthil highlighted that airports must use the Route Exchange platform to be considered. “We remain extremely satisfied with Route Exchange, and are confident we will be able to achieve our ambition by leveraging the Route Exchange platform in undertaking our evaluation,” he said.
All airports that have proceeded to the RFP stage are now completing a formal pre-defined data requirements spreadsheet and a proposal document, according to AirAsia X. The airline is also encouraging applicants to send through other supporting documents such as tourism videos, corporate brochures, examples of marketing campaigns and endorsements etc. The final deadline for responses is August 1 and by September 1 AirAsia X will have formalised a shortlist of possible new airport partners.
“We are really pleased to be managing the planned European expansion of AirAsia X, one of the world’s most recognised airline brands,” said David McMullen, Business Development Director, Routesonline. “The RFP process has received in excess of 1,000 page visits since the process was launched on June 2 and we have witnessed record levels of traffic to both the website and Route Exchange online trading platform. Our special The HUB Update release also set new records for readership numbers, further underlining the high regard that airports across Europe have of the AirAsia X brand.”
For more information on the bid process click here to visit the AirAsia X Route Exchange profile or for additional information email [email protected]
Related Content
